Sons of Russ
The Sons of Russ is an unofficial collective of ferocious Successor Chapters created from the lineage of the feral Space Wolves created in the wake of the Ultima Founding. These Chapters are comprised entirely of newly revealed Primaris Space Marines - the next generation of transhuman warriors - and are of like-mind and bellicose temperament. They now stand as a bulwark eternal vigil over the Eye of Terror and wage an eternal war against the Traitor Legions and those who would make truck with the Ruinous Powers. Background The origins of the Sons of Russ harkens back to the dark days following the Horus Heresy when the Second Founding took place in 021.M31. The Legiones Astartes were broken down into separate, smaller existing formations known as Chapters. No longer would they march in ranks of ten thousand Astartes or more. The High Lords of Terra created the Successor or Progenitor Chapters, off-shoots governed by the same gene-seed, so that their Primarch's legacy was maintained across the stars. The more Successor Chapters drawn from the original Legion's gene-seed, the greater the legacy. The scions of Roboute Guilliman were the ancestors of hundreds of Chapters, as were the sons of Rogal Dorn, and so it was that the Imperium was ultimately modelled in their image. Without Successors, no Chapter lived to exert influence. Successor Chapters - these were what the Vlka Fenryka (the Space Wolves) aspired to create, to ensure that warriors of their temper flourished and endured. The Wolf Brothers The Space Wolves created from the genetic legacy of Leman Russ a Successor Chapter known as the Wolf Brothers. This newly formed Chapter was intended to be as numerous as their genetic forebears, and as powerful. They were to have been the first of many Successors, a whole line of descendant Fenrisian Chapters - the "Sons of Russ," capable of carving out a star empire the size of Ultramar. That was the vision of the Space Wolves: to be powerful enough to encircle the Eye of Terror completely, to prevent the Traitors from daring to leave it ever again. It was hoped that the Wolf Brothers and other Space Wolves Successors would fulfill their destiny and find a new purpose in the Age of the Imperium. But something went terribly wrong and the Wolf Brothers were disbanded, scattered to the six points of the compass. They were disbanded for the same reason there could be no further Successors to the Space Wolves - the existence of the Wolf Within. The genetic code of the Space Wolves Astartes known as the ''Canis Helix'' was far too dangerous to be copied. The heritage that made the Space Wolves powerful also made their genomes unstable and prone to rapid mutation. The Tempering The Space Wolves shelved their plans to create any further Successor Chapters after the disastrous failure of their previous attempt, but in the 32nd Millennium, a Wolf Priest named Thrar "Wyrmblade" Hraldir believed he was close to a breakthrough. Hraldir had come closer than any other since the time of the Emperor Himself at understanding the genetic nature of the Canis Helix. Hraldir came close to figuring out how to reproduce the gene-seed of the Space Wolves without any of its inherent flaws. The Space Wolves' dream of emulating the Ultramarines, Imperial Fists and the other First Founding Chapters in the creation of a legion of Successors seemed close at hand. But unknown to the Space Wolves, their ambitions were also known to their ancient enemy, the Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red of the traitorous Thousand Sons Traitor Legion. The program for eradicating the genetic flaws from the legacy of Leman Russ was known as "The Tempering." For a generation, Hraldir worked on a cure for the Space Wolves' genetic flaws. No fleshmaker had ever discovered more than the Wolf Priest about the nature of the Canis Helix. It had become clear to him the Curse of the Wulfen could be eradicated while preserving the glory provided by the integration of animal DNA into the Space Wolves' gene-seed. First Battle of the Fang After the end of the Horus Heresy, Magnus the Red was determined to have his revenge for the devastation of his homeworld of Prospero at the hands of his former brother, the Primarch Leman Russ and his Legion. He devised a cunning plan to lure the Space Wolves into a trap in order to enact his final vengeance against them. In a bold trap, Magnus lured the majority of the Space Wolves Chapter away from their homeworld, while the bulk of the the Thousand Sons attacked Fenris in full. During the First Battle of the Fang, Magnus the Red personally destroyed the Space Wolves' gene-laboratories within The Fang. He shattered the birthing tubes and trampled and tore apart the experimental Sons of Russ. The vials of altered Space Wolves gene-seed were all destroyed, broken into glistening shards of glass, while the Cogitators containing the data on their creation were consumed by flames. irreplaceable equipment, some of it dating back to the days of the Unification on Terra, had been entirely devastated, and priceless inner mechanics were now nothing more than useless wreckage. During the Daemon Primarch's rampage in The Fang's fleshchambers he was confronted by Wolf Priest Hraldir. Though the valiant Space Wolf faced the Primarch, he proved no match for the might of one of the genetic sons of the Emperor, and was slain. With his death and the destruction of The Fang's laboratories and data storage, The Tempering could not be completed. None now lived within the Chapter who understood Hraldir's work, and the necessary genetic alteration equipment had been utterly destroyed. After this catastrophe, the Space Wolves believed they would forever remain alone, the sole inheritors of the legacy of Leman Russ. Hope for the Future The Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, always an optimist, but never a fool, had learned from the mistakes of the Horus Heresy. He had foreseen that the Forces of Chaos would never relent in their aim to bring the Imperium of Man low. He anticipated that the threats Chaos and the xenos presented to Humanity would engulf the galaxy and knew that warriors resilient enough to stand against them would be needed as never before. Therefore, he set a task for the Priesthood of Mars: to develop a new legion of transhuman warriors - the Primaris Space Marines - who were bigger, more physically powerful and possessed faster reaction times than their original Astartes counterparts. Following the Great Scouring, Guilliman tasked Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl with this most important of projects. The Primarch entrusted the Archmagos with the Sangprimus Portum, a a device containing potent genetic material harvested from the Primarchs and entrusted to Cawl shortly after the Second Founding in 001.M32, that allowed for Cawl's breakthrough in creating the genetically superior Primaris Astartes. It is also known that in addition to the general advancements in their gene-seed, Primaris Space Marines possess three additional gene-seed implant organs compared to their standard brethren and that their gene-seed is far more genetically stable than that of their forerunners. Primaris Space Marine gene-seed has only a .001% chance of genetic deviancy from the original baseline with the passage of each generation, which makes it nearly immune to the severe genetic instability suffered by Chapters such as the Blood Angels and Space Wolves over the course of their existence. In the pursuit of his attempt to improve upon the original Space Marine template, Archmagos Dominus Cawl collected samples of the genomes of all twenty of the original Primarchs, including those deemed Lost or Traitors, though Roboute Guilliman made clear to his overeager servant that Primaris Astartes were to be created only from the lines of those of his brothers who led the nine Loyalist Space Marine Legions. In regards to the Space Wolves' gene-seed and the creation of new Successor Chapters, Archmagos Dominus Cawl was able to refine the gene-sequences of the Canis Helix, altering it to deliver the supernatural strength of a Space Wolf Astartes without unleashing the ravages of the Wulfen within. The products of these experiments created within the flesh labs of Mars with the altered Canis Helix were as powerful as a true Space Wolf, as quick in the hunt and as skilled with a blade, but they did not degenerate into the Wulfen, nor did their personalities take on bestial characteristics. They possessed the qualities that made the Space Wolves superb warriors, and purged the genetic factors that would have prevented them from creating successors. Thus, the path was laid to forge anew, Chapters derived from the genetic heritage of Russ. Ultima Founding As the 41st Millennium drew to a close, the Imperium was beset on all sides by the forces of darkness. It's at this time that the Forces of Chaos converged upon the realm of Mankind during the 13th Black Crusade, led by the Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon the Despoiler. Many Space Marine Chapters converge on the sectors surrounding the Eye of Terror in a desperate attempt to counter the influx of the vile Chaos forces. Despite the best efforts of the Imperium's staunchest defenders, the long-standing fortress world of Cadia falls. With the destruction of this vitally important planet, reality tears itself apart from the Hadex Anomaly at the core of the Jeriocho Reach in the Eastern Fringe, to the furthest system of the Segmentum Obscurus. From that hole come warp storms not seen since the Age of Strife, cutting off the galactic north from Terra. The initial period, known as the Noctis Aeterna - or the Blackness - is terrible indeed. For a time, all warp travel is impossible and the far-spread planets of the Imperium are isolated, with no travel or communication between them. Worlds in their hundreds fall before the ensuing Chaos onslaught. The pulsing Cicatrix Maledictum spreads like an impenetrable curtain, robbing entire systems of the holy light of Terra. It was during this time that Primarch Guilliman's ultimate contingency plan - ten thousand years in the making - was finally revealed. Following the Horus Heresy, Guilliman had anticipated the need for a new breed of hero for this, the darkest age in the Imperium's history. He knew that the galaxy would need warriors resilient enough to stand against the Forces of Chaos as the Imperium found itself poised on the brink of annihilation. To that end, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl had been working diligently to ten millennia on improving the Adeptus Astartes themselves. The result was the Primaris Space Marines, a powerful core of transhuman warriors, more potent than the original Astartes. New armies were raised in breathtaking numbers and new and terrible weapons were developed whose fury even the worshipers of the Dark Gods would be unable to withstand. The first Primaris Space Marines to march to war were those from Archmagos Cawl's laboratories on Mars. Upon Roboute Guilliman's belated return to Terra, the risen Primarch ordered the fruits of Cawl's long labour unleashed. This initial wave of Primaris Space Marines emerged from stasis fully psychologically indoctrinated to each fulfill a single strategic role. Despite their lack of battlefield experience, these warriors were able to immediately take up their front-line combat duties with the expertise of veterans, and all possessed a modicum of additional skill with machine spirits thanks to their Martian heritage. This host of newly created transhuman warriors were not only created just as reinforcements to existing Chapters, for Guilliman had decreed that new Chapters should be created as well, composed entirely of Primaris Space Marines. Therefore, a new founding was decreed - the Ultima Founding. Some of the Martian Primaris formed entirely new Chapters such as the Crimson Prowlers and the Dusk Howlers. The rest joined Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade as a part of the Unnumbered Sons, whose numbers were legion, fighting together with the scions of other Chapters until the crusade fleets reached their adoptive home world or fleet. Each time such a momentous occasion came, another cadre of battle-brothers would peel off and reinforce the Chapter whose colours they wore and whose genetic heritage they shared. Not all of these Primaris reinforcements had an easy time integrating with their erstwhile brothers, but ultimately all brought fresh strength to the Space Marine Chapters fighting furiously against the tides of horrors vomited from the Great Rift. The Foundations Are Laid and Dusk Howlers form an alliance.]] The foundations of the Sons of Russ would be formed during the early years of the Indomitus Crusade between two newly-created Space Wolves Successor Chapters - the Crimson Prowlers and the Dusk Howlers. Both Chapters were one of several Primaris Space Marine Chapters created from the lineage of the mighty and powerful gene-seed of the Space Wolves, created as one of the first of many Successors. Not since the Second Founding had the Galaxy witnessed a Successor Chapter created from the heritage of the Wolf King, but with the successful tinkering of Belisarius Cawl, the ancient Archmagos Dominus had successfully managed to refine the gene-sequence of several genetic lines, including the Space Wolves, and altered them to deliver the positive affects without suffering from the genetic 'Curse of the Wulfen' that often plagued those Astartes descended from the line of Russ. Thus, these two newly created Primaris Chapters of the Ultima Founding were unleashed, to take the fight to the Forces of Chaos. The Crimson Prowlers often deployed alongside the ranks of the Unnumbered Sons - formations of Primaris Space Marines created from a mixture of all nine of the Loyalist Primarchs' gene-lines, including those created from the lineage of Russ. The Crimson Prowlers eschewed the establishment of a Chapter home world, preferring to take the fight directly to the enemies of Mankind aboard the vessels of their mighty war fleet. During their many sojourns into Chaos-occupied sectors, they encountered their fellow cousin-Chapter - the Dusk Howlers - who also hailed from the line of Russ. The two Chapters immediately formed a bond of kinship, as they both found one anther of like-mind and similar mien. For several decades, the two Chapters fought alongside one another during several campaigns, taking back those worlds lost to the Traitor Legions or were enslaved by the Neverborn. The Múspellsheimr Excoriation Forming an alliance with several knightly houses and Astra Militarum regiments, this formidable Imperial coalition led a Crusade across several neighboring systems in the Segmentum Obscurus. During this time, the two Sons of Russ Chapters encountered yet another Chapter that hailed from the get of Russ - the Bloodied Hunters. This Ultima Founding Chapter hailed from the feral and inhospitable world of Múspellsheimr, located in the isolated Helheim System. Following the destruction of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade, the warp storms that emanated from the formation of the Great Rift darkened the whole system, and in the ensuing maelstrom, a large Khornate warhost comprised of several infamous Chaos Warbands - Battleforged, Bloodborn Wolves and the Shackles of Khorne - materialise within the system to slaughter and enslave the worlds' dense populations. Despite the odds arrayed against them, the Bloodied Hunters stood steadfast, ready to sell their lives dearly for the sake of their people. The ferocious Astartes were heavily engaged with the bloody-handed Berserkers and their daemonic allies. Though the Bloodied Hunters fought bravely and made the Forces of Chaos pay dearly for every iota of the system they took control of, it was a losing battle. Falling back to their homeworld, the Bloodied Hunters prepared to make their final stand, determined to acquit themselves as true Sons of Russ, but inevitably, they would be surrounded and massacred by the overwhelming forces of the Blood God. Smashing through the ranks of the Khornate warhost, the Sons of Russ and their Imperial allies fought their way towards the ninth planet of the system, to relieve their beleaguered cousins. Only the timely arrival of the Dusk Howlers and Crimson Prowlers Chapters, were the abattoir rituals halted. The wolf-brethren fight with the same ferocity and passion as any son of Fenris, driving the blood-maddened berserkers on their heels. Soon the tide of battle turns, as several Imperial Knights and multiple Astra Militarum regiments add their strength to the Sons of Russ. Despite their tenacity, the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Imperial forces soon turns their attack into a desperate last stand. Eventually, they are forced to make a fighting withdrawal or risk annihilation. Grudgingly, the majority of the Khornate warhost withdraws from the surface of the planet, although no small few refuse to retreat, and instead are slaughtered by the fury-driven Sons of Russ. Formation of the Great Pack In the aftermath of their victory, the Great Hunter Ásbjorn Kveld-Úlfr (the 'Nightwolf'), Lord of the Bloodied Hunters, extended an invitation to his counterparts from the Crimson Prowlers and Dusk Howlers. The two Great Wolves, escorted by a large entourage of their Chapter's finest warriors, met within the great Feast Hall of the Bloodied Hunters' fortress-monastery. When they arrived at their destination, much to their astonishment, they found that their cousin Chapter's formidable fortress was comprised of a half-buried, ancient Space Wolves strike cruiser. After much feasting and drunken revelry, the three Chapter Masters came to an accord. They agreed to form the 'Sons of Russ' - an unofficial collective of Space Wolves Successor Chapters that would forever more stand as eternal sentinels over the Eye of Terror. Each Chapter would henceforth come to one another's aid when the need arose, without hesitation. Following the events on Múspellsheimr, the Sons of Russ departed one another's company to continue prosecuting the wars of the Indomitus Crusade in other Chaos-held regions. The Sons of Russ continued to wage their wars against the Great Enemy and their Neverborn allies, to free beleaguered Imperial worlds from their foul ilk. They worked their way sector by sector, planet by planet, freeing those who could be liberated and avenging those who could not. Nearly a century of fighting culminated in the epic Battle of Raukos - a major engagement between the forces of the Imperium commanded by the Lord Commander of the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman, and the Forces of Chaos around the strategically important Pit of Raukos, an ancient and isolated Warp Rift. Already reeling from the Guilliman's campaigns, the Forces of Chaos were delivered a decisive killing blow and were utterly decimated by the Imperial forces. In the aftermath of this monumental victory, Guilliman decided to disperse the Indomitus Crusade by holding a triumph much like the one the Emperor of Mankind had held in the wake of the Ullanor Crusade during the final days of the Great Crusade. It was at this time that the majority of the remaining legions of the Unnumbered Sons were disbanded and dispersed to already established Space Marine Chapters, while the remainder were formed into new Primaris Space Marine Chapters. One such Chapter was the newly created Dawn's Wolves, another Successor Chapter created from the lineage of the Leman Russ. Over the course of the Indomitus Crusade, these Sons of Russ proved themselves to be extremely competent in guerrilla tactics as well as consummate hunters, pursuing their foes relentlessly and tearing them apart at close-quarters. Following their inception, the Dawn's Wolves decided to eschew establishing a Chapter home world. They did not waste time consolidating defences on a world which would tie them down, for they wished to pursue the enemies of Mankind in their places of power, bringing them swift death in the form of their bolters, blades and sharpened incisors. Setting course for the Eye of Terror, the Dawn's Wolves carved a bloody-path as they slew the enemies of Mankind in righteous anger - purging pirates, Chaos cultists and all manner of xenos. Only when they met with the ferocious Bloodied Hunters and the Crimson Prowlers did the Dawn's Wolves First Hunt end. The latter Chapter had fought alongside the as-yet unnamed Dawn's Wolves when they still count themselves amongst the legions of the Unnumbered Sons, on a number of occasions during the early years of the Indomitus Crusade. The Dawn's Wolves would later meet, yet, another cousin Chapter - the Dusk Howlers. The discovery of these three fellow Space Wolves Successor Chapters who were never a part of the Unnumbered Sons was a time of trial for the Dawns. Their wild brothers were at first dismissive of what they perceived as congenial restraint from the younger Chapter. Only when a Chaos fleet emerged from the Eye of Terror, and the Dawn's Wolves immediately rushed to confront it ahead of their cousins, did the other Sons of Russ change their opinion of them. Spearheading the assault upon the vile forces of the Great Enemy, the Dawn's Wolves were quickly joined by their fellow wolf brothers. Once their foes had been crushed, each Chapter making up for the blind spots in the others' favoured tactics, the Bloodied Hunters, Dusk Howlers and Crimson Prowlers extended an offer to formally join their collective known as the Sons of Russ. The Dawn's Wolves eagerly accepted their cousin Chapters' invitation. The next six years were spent refining their alliance and learning how best to combine the tactics favored by the Chapters in a well-oiled warmachine. Since this auspicious occasion, the Sons of Russ have continued to protect the realms of Mankind from the forces of the Ruinous Powers, carving their own legends in the annals of Imperial history. Savage Kin Hailing from the icy death world of Fjörgyn the Wild Wolves are a particularly savage and bellicose chapter of Astartes, created during the Ultima Founding, descended from the venerable and potent lineage of the feral Space Wolves. The Astartes of this Chapter believe they are deeply touched by the Wild Wolf, the Fjörgynian God of the Hunt. Like their namesake, the Wild Wolves are savage and fiercely aggressive, their blood burning hot with the potent genetic legacy of the Canis Helix within their veins. These warriors prefer to fight at close quarters and are armed with a variety of melee weapons such as chain weapons, power axes and bolt pistols. Notoriously violent and short of temper, they eagerly rush into the fray, slaying their foes in a hail of blood and gore, battering through the deadliest foes and the direst situations to emerge triumphant, time and again. Not long after becoming a full-fledged Chapter, the Wild Wolves quickly found one of their cousin Chapters - the Bloodied Hunters - a fellow Primaris Space Wolves Successor Chapter. Both Scions of Russ Chapter fought together against the infamous Sons of Torment Chaos Warband. The sheer savagery of the Wild Wolves impressed even the ruthless Bloodied Hunters. The two chapters quickly became allies fighting alongside one another on numerous occasions. Nearly a decade after their inception, when the Wild Wolves once again fought their hated foes - the Sons of Torment - the Chapter soon found themselves overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the traitors and their daemonic allies. Facing imminent defeat, they found their salvation in the form of the timely arrival of their fellow Space Wolves Successors, the Bloodied Hunters Chapter, which came to aid their fellow cousin Chapter win against the heretics. However, the Bloodied Hunters had not come alone, for they had three other Chapters with them - the Dusk Howlers, Crimson Prowlers and the Dawn's Wolves. Together, these three Chapters formed the unofficial collective known as the Sons of Russ. Joined together, these Scions of Russ fought against the servants of Timor, proving to be an unstoppable force. Impressed by their fellow wolf-kin, the Sons of Russ extended an invitation to their savage cousins to join their collective. Since this occasion, the Sons of Russ and the Wild Wolves have formed strong bonds as warriors and fellow scions of the Wolf King, and have willingly answered one another's call for aid, when the need arises. Category:History Category:Imperium Category:Space Marines Category:Specialist Formations